Polygeneration microgrids: A viable solution in remote areas for supplying power, potable water and hydrogen as transportation fuel

George Kyriakarakos, Anastasios I. Dounis, Stelios Rozakis, Konstantinos G. Arvanitis and George Papadakis

Applied Energy, 2011, vol. 88, issue 12, 4517-4526

Abstract: This paper presents the concept and the design of a hybrid renewable energy polygeneration microgrid along with its technical and economical evaluation. The energy of the sun and the wind is harvested by photovoltaics and a wind turbine. Besides that, the components of the microgrid include a battery bank, a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell, a PEM electrolyzer, a metal hydride tank, a reverse osmosis desalination unit using energy recovery and a control system. The microgrid covers the electricity, transport and water needs and thus its products are power, hydrogen as transportation fuel and potable water through desalination. Hydrogen and the desalinated water also act as medium to long term seasonal storage. A design tool based on TRNSYS 16, GenOpt 2.0 and TRNOPT was developed using Particle Swarm Optimization method. The economic evaluation of the concept was based on the discounting cash flow approach. The Monte Carlo Simulation method was used in order to take uncertainty into account. A technically feasible polygeneration microgrid adapted to a small island is financially profitable with a probability of 90% for the present and 100% at the medium term.

Keywords: Autonomous hybrid renewable energy systems; Polygeneration; Microgrids; Hydrogen; Desalination; Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO); TRNSYS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (54)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.05.038

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